In the prior art many centrifuge devices have been proposed for the separation of the various fractional components of blood. Usually these devices involve the utilization purely of centrifugal force acting on the different-mass components of blood samples. In some cases there is flow-through, employing rotating seals. However, there have been flow-through centrifuge devices without rotating seals. Such a device has been recently described for on-line plasmapheresis of whole blood, in Y. Ito, J. Suaudeau, and R. L. Bowman, Science, 189, 999, 1975.
The prior art devices are either relatively slow-acting, cause some damage to the harvested blood components, have limited capacity, or require the use of anticoagulants.
The following is a list of prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. pertinent to the present invention, found in a preliminary search:
Williams, 3,908,893;
Westberg, 3,817,449;
Unger, et al 3,858,796;
Sartory, et al, 3,957,197;
Schlutz, 3,982,691;
Jones, et al 4,007,871;
Kellogg, 4,010,894;
Judson, et al 3,655,123;
Adams, 3,586,413;
Ito, et al 3,775,309.